Pinal County sheriff blasts immigration billboard

William D'Urso -
Sept. 23, 2010 09:17 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu Thursday issued a news release distancing himself from a billboard on private property in Oracle that displays a "security threat" quote attributed to him next to a picture of a Hispanic family.


The sign does not reflect the intent of Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law SB 1070, the Sheriff's Office said.

"This billboard represents the same misleading and misguided message that President Obama made when he gave the example of how law enforcement would target a father walking down the street eating ice cream with his daughter if SB1070 passed," the release said.

Sheriff's spokesman Tim Gaffney said Babeu has had no involvement in paying for, creating, or distributing the billboard.

The billboard features this quote it attributes to Babeu: "This is our most serious public safety issue and national security threat to America." Next to the quotation is the picture of a Hispanic family.

Gaffney said the billboard's suggestion that SB 1070 is targeting families is "absolutely false."

The owners of the property could not be reached for comment.

"I find this billboard offensive and misleading," Babeu said in his release. "This message is not truthful and takes away from the great work our law enforcement members do on a daily basis to protect our Pinal County families."

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